The Origins of Happiness

Based on extensive longitudinal data in four countries, this book about the science of well-being over the life course is a significant contribution not only to psychology but also ultimately to policy-making in terms of what really matters to people. It asks what makes a happy adult and a successful child, looking at the role of income, education, work and employment, family, mental and physical health, crime, social norms and institutions. For children, the factors are family income, working parents, parenting and mental health, family conflict and schooling. Contrary to much conventional thinking, the results show conclusively that the most important factors for happiness are relationships and mental and physical health. For children, emotional health is critical. Education and income are less important than previously thought, and indeed the effect of rising income is almost neutral as it is offset by comparisons with others even when rising. Social ethos is also very significant in terms of levels of trust, generosity, social support and freedom. Overall, life satisfaction seems to peak in the early 70s. Work comes low down in the scale of life satisfaction, a finding that can give a steer to employers to enhance the happiness of their employees; as expected, the effect of unemployment on happiness is severe.

The conclusion reinforces what many people already know, namely that we have to move beyond GDP and that the goal of governments should be to increase happiness and well-being and to reduce misery. Policymakers should refer to the key findings (p. 214) as a basis for practical measures and new policies should be monitored and assessed. In view of the importance of mental health and rising levels of mental distress among young people, it would have been useful for the book to have discussed the reasons for this as well as proposing more generally policies based on enhancing happiness. In this respect, the effect of screens on young people and the impact on their relationships could usefully have been addressed.